UPDATE [Oct 1]: Well that was interesting. Just got off a conference call with "teams" from Principal and UHC, and have several pages of notes. Here are some first impressions:

Principal's apparently been shedding medical business for a while; that line currently makes up something like 15% of its business. So this is not exactly "unexpected." As a result, they're transitioning their health business to UHC; this process is anticipated to be complete within the next 36 months.

Another key point is that as a result, all of their groups will (eventually) be "un-grandfathered." While both teams acknowledged this reality, they did try very hard to downplay its significance. Make of that what you will.

Finally, and consider this an IB "scoop," we were told that the Mayo Clinic will be in-network with UHC as of November 1.

UPDATE [Oct 1]: Well that was interesting. Just got off a conference call with "teams" from Principal and UHC, and have several pages of notes. Here are some first impressions:

Principal's apparently been shedding medical business for a while; that line currently makes up something like 15% of its business. So this is not exactly "unexpected." As a result, they're transitioning their health business to UHC; this process is anticipated to be complete within the next 36 months.

Another key point is that as a result, all of their groups will (eventually) be "un-grandfathered." While both teams acknowledged this reality, they did try very hard to downplay its significance. Make of that what you will.

Finally, and consider this an IB "scoop," we were told that the Mayo Clinic will be in-network with UHC as of November 1.